6.0 earthquake shakes Northern California

This photo provided by Lyall Davenport shows damage to a building in Napa, Calif. early Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. Officials say an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 has been reported in California's northern San Francisco Bay area. (AP Photo/Lyall Davenport)

SAN FRANCISCO - The biggest Bay Area earthquake in a quarter-century rattled the region early Sunday morning, with a 6.0 rattler waking up nervous locals, knocking out power to tens of thousands of buildings and knocking items off shelves in homes and stores.

The quake was reported at 3:20 a.m. and was centered close to Buchli Station Road, near American Canyon in Napa County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An estimated total of 2.3 million people from the Santa Cruz area to Wine Country felt the quake, spanning 100 miles, the USGS reported.

The last time an earthquake of this size hit the Bay Area was in 1989, when the infamous Loma Prieta quake reached a magnitude 6.9 and caused severe damage. The largest on record was the historic 7.8 earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. reported more than 25,000 customers without power in the area near Napa and Santa Rosa. Some street lights in Napa were knocked out, and there were scattered reports of fires, the California Highway Patrol said. People posted pictures on social media of a Walmart and a grocery store with bottles knocked over and shattered. Some residents posted pictures of their kitchens in disarray. One man posted a picture of his chimney knocked over. In Vallejo, the CHP closed state Route 37 from Sonoma Boulevard to Fairgrounds because of roadway damage.

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Seconds after the shaking, which lasted upward of 30 seconds in some parts, social media was flooded with witness accounts of the earthquake, including from law-enforcement and emergency personnel in the area. A smattering of aftershocks did not surpass magnitude 2.5 in the hour following the quake.

There were no immediate reports of damages to Bay Area bridges.

According to initial USGS data, it was categorized as “severe” in how the shaking was perceived, though user-reported data deemed it on a lower degree, as “strong.” The earthquake was initially reported as having a 6.1 magnitude before being quickly downgraded to 6.0.